Exoneration of the Day - Cop and Witness Lie and 5 People Wrongly Convicted of Murder

Posted By Imhoff & Associates || 29-Sep-2016

A 36-year-old drug dealer and street gang member in Los Angeles, was shot
and killed while standing outside a fast food restaurant.

A witness who was so close to the shooting that her clothes were splattered
with blood picked out 5 men whom she said were involved with the killing,
leading to them being charged with murder. Each pleaded no contest to
manslaughter and received prison sentences of 12 years.

Approximately 5 years later the witness recanted her statement saying the
people she ID were not the actual people involved in the murders and she
made these allegations at the request of one of the police officers who
originally arrived on the scene of the fast food murder. It was later
discovered the same police officer had been involved with an affair with
this witness beginning when she was 16 years old. The officer just pulled
the pictures of gang members from a police book and instructed the witness
to testify against them

The same police officer years earlier had been involved in a large scandal
in the police department that led to his conviction and the dismissal
of up to 150 convictions obtained by him and his fellow officers.

Lawyers for the five defendants filed a motion for a new trial and the
judge granted the motion. The judge dismissed the charges at the request
of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office and ordered all 5
men freed.

All five men filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the city of Los
Angeles. The city settled four of the cases. Each wrongly convicted person
received between $300,000 - $850,000.

Imhoff & Associates, PC

Quick Links

Stay Connected

Vincent Imhoff is licensed to practice law in California, Illinois and
Pennsylvania. Scott Matthews is a partner of Imhoff & Associates North
Carolina, LLP. George Wooditch is a partner of Imhoff & Associates
Virginia, LLP.